by Kay Harris
“He’s not perfect, you know,” Derek said, amusement dancing in his voice.
“No?” Alice asked.
“No. He snores like a son of a bitch.”
“What the fuck?”
Derek’s hand fell to his side as he spun around to face his brother. “Hey, Darius.”
“What’s going on?” Darius was across the space and had Alice wrapped up in his arms within seconds.
She placed a placating hand on his chest. “Everything’s okay, Baby.”
Darius looked down at her. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. We were just meeting for the first time.” Derek slapped Darius’ arm.
“What?” Confusion danced in Darius’ sapphire eyes.
“Yeah. You know. We were starting over,” Derek explained.
Darius eyed his brother for a moment before turning back to Alice. “Yeah?”
“Yep.” She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed the bottom of his chin.
“Hey, Little Fleck. Your wife is probably looking for you, man,” Greg said.
“Yeah. We should leave these two lovebirds alone,” Derek agreed. He smiled once more at his brother and walked back into the reception hall.
Darius turned Alice in his arms. “Wanna go for a drive?”
“A drive?”
“Yeah.”
Alice cocked her head at him. “What? You wanna park or something? What are we sixteen?”
“No. I want to take you to the beach.”
“Beach?”
“Come on. I’ll show you.”
Darius ushered Alice around the building to the parking lot where his dad’s car waited for them. They passed Derek’s decorated sports car on the way.
“Wait. We can’t leave yet, can we?”
“We’ll be back before Derek and Stephanie take off. Come on.” He tugged on her hand and pulled her toward the car.
Alice skipped on her high shoes and popped into the passenger seat. The ride through the quiet little town was accompanied by Alice’s laugh and Darius’ chuckle as they ran over the events of the night. Greg’s terrible speech, Derek’s trip on the dance floor edging as he made his way up for the first dance, and Stephanie’s drunk sister falling into the cake were all topics of conversation.
When they reached Union Lake beach, Darius parked on the far side of a new parking lot. “You ever been here?” he asked.
“Only during the day. Why? Is this where you used to bring all those horny teenage girls at night?”
“No. I only came here alone.” Darius stepped out of the car and walked around to the other side to open her door.
Alice took his hand and slipped out of the car. They walked down toward the edge of the lake. The heat of the day was gone, leaving a humid chill in the air. Alice shivered. Darius wrapped her up in his jacket and pulled her close to his side as they walked along the rocky shore.
“This is really embarrassing to admit. But, when I was a kid, I would come out here and daydream about you.”
Alice stopped and turned toward him. “What? What do you mean?”
“My thing for you was pretty intense.”
“Really?”
“Hmmm. Especially that summer I was home and you were dating Derek. I would come out here and imagine bringing you here myself.”
Alice tugged on his hands so Darius would dip his head. “Seriously?”
“I have a very good imagination. I can see a play in my head before I make it. That’s why I’m a good quarterback. And when I was a desperate, smitten young man with a rapid libido, I…” he shrugged. “Too weird?”
She reached up, put her hands on the back of his neck, and pulled his lips to hers. “No. I think it’s adorable.”
“Alice. I am so happy you and my family are okay.”
“Darius,” she breathed. “I love you.”
AUGUST
Chapter 17
Darius sat in a chair in the middle of his parents’ living room. With his mom, dad, brother, and sister-in-law sitting on the sectional couch in front of him, it felt a little like holding court.
“So what’s the big announcement?” Derek asked. “You going to do another underwear ad? Should we expect to see you on another billboard?”
“Would you stop with the underwear already?” Stephanie slapped her husband on the chest.
“I’m going to ask Alice to marry me.”
It was as if a blanket had been thrown over the entire room. No one spoke. Darius looked at them, one by one. With the exception of Derek, they all had open mouths and wide eyes.
Derek leaned back in the couch, threw one arm over the back, and grinned. “Sounds about right.”
Their mother turned her head to stare at her youngest son. “What?” She looked back at Darius. “You’ve only been dating for a few months. I mean, isn’t this a little fast?”
“Your mother has a point,” his dad said. “I mean, why don’t you move in together first? Date for a while.”
Darius expected this reaction from his mom, but not from his dad. He kind of figured his dad would just shrug and walk away. But, suddenly, Ted seemed interested in what Darius did with his life outside of football. The surprise caught him off guard for a moment.
While he collected his thoughts, his mother took advantage by nodding her head vigorously and reiterating what his father had said. “Yes. Why don’t you move in together? People get to know each other so much better when they live under the same roof. Derek and Stephanie have lived together ever since she got out of school. It has really helped them to figure out—”
“I don’t need to. I know what I want,” Darius said.
“This is super fast,” Stephanie said.
Darius felt like a teenager trying to explain his first love to disapproving parents. And those parents happened to have unexpected back up in the form of their school teacher daughter-in-law. It was not at all what he’d expected.
When he’d first arrived in Walker Springs earlier that day he’d gone over to the Bando’s house and made the same announcement, albeit in a slightly more humble and respectful way. They’d been happy and welcoming of the idea.
Now he sat before his own family. He was the oldest child. He was, in many ways, the breadwinner in the family. At a young age his career had paid off the house and bought them all new cars. He’d worked harder and invested smarter than all of them. And yet, he was being treated like a child, by everyone but Derek.
Darius turned to his brother. Derek smirked. “It’s not fast. He’s been in love with her since we were kids. Isn’t that right, big brother?”
Darius stared into Derek’s eyes for a long, piercing moment. “You knew then, or you figured it out now?” he asked.
One side of Derek’s mouth kicked up, matching his raised eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“What the hell are you two talking about?” their father asked.
Derek stuck his finger at Darius. “You’ve had a thing for Alice since she was my girlfriend. And, yeah, I figured it out back then. I came home one day and the two of you were in the kitchen eating ice cream or something. I watched you from right over there.” He moved his accusatory finger to point out the exact spot. “And I might have been a douche back then, but I wasn’t dumb. I could tell you had a thing for her. And she had a thing for you. And I was a total jealous dick.”
Darius stared into his brother’s eyes. “Wow.”
“The point is.” Derek addressed the whole room. “He’s been in love with her, like, forever.”
“He’s right,” Darius admitted. “I have. So, is everybody going to be cool when I bring her home next time as my fiancée?”
His father stood. Darius stood as well. They faced each other in the middle of the living room.
“I know you think I never approve of your choices. But that’s not true. I’m proud of all the choices you’ve made. But.” He placed a hand on Darius’ shoulder. “I have to admit, outside of football, this is the best one you’ve eve
r made.”
****
Kyle threw the game controller down and raised his arms in the air. “Yes! I just beat you at football. You!”
Darius laughed and tossed down his own controller. “Electronically. Don’t let it go to your head.” Darius swiveled in the game chair and looked around the spacious living room. “This place is nice.”
“Thanks. Lisa did most of the decorating. She said it needed to look like an adult lives here.”
Darius’ gaze flew over the framed book covers and paintings on the wall, as well as the matching oak furniture. “Well, she did a good job. Are things going well with her?”
“Very, very well. You were right, we’re perfect for each other.”
Darius patted Kyle’s shoulder. “I’m glad.”
“Speaking of which, did Alice dump you, yet?”
“Thankfully, no. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about me and Alice.”
Kyle swiveled his chair so he faced Darius. “You mean about the fact that you’re planning to propose?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Her mom called me last night. Is that why you flew home for the weekend? To ask for her parents’ blessing?” Kyle asked.
“Yes. But don’t tell Alice. She’d be pissed.”
Kyle threw his head back and laughed. “Damn right she would.”
“What do you think about it?”
“I think it’s great. I hope she says yes. When are you gonna do it?”
“When I get back.”
Kyle held his hand between them. “Show me the ring.”
“I don’t have one.”
“What? Why not?”
Darius chewed on his lip. This was the thing he worried about the most. “I don’t know how to get Alice the perfect ring. I’m afraid I’ll screw it up.”
“Well you’ve come to the right place.”
“What?” Darius tracked Kyle as he stood and walked to the front door. “What are you talking about?”
Kyle bent his head toward the door. “Come on. I’m going to help your pathetic ass pick out the perfect ring.”
****
Alice tried to catch her breath, but it was very difficult to do when she refused to separate her mouth from Darius. She clung to his back, desperate to keep him close. Darius was inside her, around her, part of her. His breath mingled with hers, as did his tongue.
She finally pulled her lips away and pressed them to his ear. “I love you, Darius.”
That was it. That’s what made him come so hard his whole body shook. Alice tightened her arms around him and held him through the aftershocks.
Darius propped himself up on one elbow and kissed Alice, slow and leisurely. Then he gave her three short kisses and smiled. “So, when I was home I saw Kyle.”
“Not surprised. You two are thick as thieves these days,” she teased.
“He’s pretty awesome. I see why you and he were such good friends.”
“Should I be worried that you are going to leave me for him?” she asked.
“Normally I would say yes, but I think Kyle’s pretty into Lisa. So I don’t think he’d have me.”
Alice kissed his nose. “So sorry, Boo. That must be hard for you to accept.”
“I’ll get over it. I also saw your parents.”
Alice pushed up on her own elbow to bring her face in line with his. “What? You did?”
“Yeah. And your aunts were there, too. They only hit on me a little bit. Just a little bit. Well, Lily was pretty aggressive about it.”
Alice had so many questions. So she started with the most obvious one. “Why? Why did you go see them?”
Darius ran his hand up Alice’s hip. “I wanted to talk to them about you and me and our relationship.”
He’d gone to get their blessing. Alice’s heart beat faster. “How did that go?”
“You know, it went pretty well. Are you mad that I went there? Kyle was convinced you’d be mad.” He looked worried. It was adorable.
“I’m not mad.”
“No?”
“No.” She smiled at him. “I kind of…I don’t know why, but I’m not mad.” Alice knew she should hate the idea of Darius getting a blessing from her family for them to be together. But instead of anger, there was a feeling of warmth in the pit of her stomach.
“Okay. Well. I’m definitely happy about that,” he said.
She shifted on the bed, tucking her leg between his two larger ones. “So, tell me how it went.”
“Well. Your dad was quiet.”
“No surprise there.”
“Your mom might be in love with me.”
“Hmmm. I think that’s accurate.”
“And I need to take out a restraining order on your aunts. But other than that. It went well.” He tucked a hair behind her ear. “They love you, Alice. And they want what’s best for you.”
“And do they recognize that what’s best for me is you?”
“Yeah. They do. Do you?”
She tipped her head. “Why would you say that?”
“Well, I didn’t make the list.”
Alice rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, right. The list. As I recall you didn’t make the list because you are famous.”
“And because we’re friends,” he pointed out.
Alice turned her head on the pillow to gaze into those bright blue eyes. “Yes. That’s right. But I got over that one. The fame, however.” She tapped her chin with her forefinger. “I don’t think I can overlook that.”
Darius gave her the biggest, most pathetic frown she’d ever seen.
She leaned up, grabbed the back of his head roughly, and kissed the look right off his face. “I’m kidding, you big dummy.”
“So you’re willing to make an exception?”
Alice smoothed her hand down his chest, over his developed pectoral muscles, past his ribbed abs, and down between his thighs. Darius moaned.
She brought her lips up to his so they brushed against each other as they spoke. “I think I can absolutely make an exception. For you.”
Darius sat up quickly. He pulled Alice’s hand away from where it had wandered and held it over his heart. “Good. Cause I need to ask you something.”
Alice sat up beside him, resting her back against the headboard. Her heart resumed its rapid pace from earlier. “Is it what I think it is?”
“I don’t know.” Darius reached into the bedside table. “What do you think I’m going to ask you?”
She tapped her finger against her chin again. “To move in with you?”
“Actually, yes.” Darius pulled a small box out of the table and sat it in his lap. Alice watched his movements carefully, her gaze never leaving the box.
“Where are we going to live? My place or yours?” she asked.
Darius opened the box slowly. “I was thinking we could get a place that’s ours. Then we could rent out the other two places. God knows we need extra income.”
Alice giggled, but she never stopped staring at the box. She steadied her breathing as he pulled a ring out of it and held it up between them. The ring was stunning and perfect. And so were his words. “I was also thinking maybe we could get married.”
A tear ran down Alice’s cheek. “You know I want that more than anything.”
“I didn’t, actually. Or at least, I wasn’t absolutely sure.” His tone was deceptively casual as he slid the ring onto her finger. But then he grew serious. “I love you so much, Alice. And I want you to be my wife.”
SEPTEMBER
Epilogue
Darius was completely failing at the calming exercises Alice was teaching him to master. He tried again, and it earned it him a pitying smile.
“What could possibly be in this box that is making you breathe like that?” Alice toyed with the wrapped parcel.
“Open it and find out.”
Alice gave him a sly peek of her eyes before carefully unwrapping the package. It was torture. She pulled off the
tape, unfolded the red and gold paper, and opened the non-descript brown box inside.
Alice poured the contents out onto the kitchen table and stared at it for a long moment. Then she sifted through the individual pieces with her fingers. “I didn’t know they even had paper tickets anymore.”
“Well. It’s a chartered flight. The tickets are just for getting through security. Is that all you have to say?”
Alice abruptly kissed him. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“So…since we’re keeping this a secret, I’ll meet you at the airport, okay?”
****
Carlos Diaz had just proposed to Amy. And Everett had just fired Maya, which was better than it sounded. And Alice spoke. “As soon as you’re done, we need to get going. All of us. We have something important to do.” All three of her birthday buddies and their boyfriends stared at her. Alice grinned. “I’m getting married tonight.”
“Wait, what?” Maya asked.
“How?” Amy interjected.
“To who?” Julia asked.
“To Darius, of course. And he’s chartered a plane.”
Everett, who already knew about the engagement, because afraid of the big brother repercussions Darius had asked for his blessing, too, did not know about the wedding plans. “Where, exactly, are we going?” he asked.
“To Vegas. Tonight. I want to get married before midnight, so we need to get a move on. Darius is already at the airport. And my family, your mother, and the Fleck clan are probably already in Sin City.”
“Awesome!” Amy exclaimed. “Let’s do this!”
“I love it,” Maya said, grabbing her purse.
“Wait. I need…I need…” Julia looked flustered.
“You need what?” Alice asked her.
Julia picked up her phone. “Can Darius add one?”
Alice shrugged. “I’m sure he can. Why?”
“Well, the reason I haven’t had a drink yet is because I’m pregnant. And I’d really like to invite my baby daddy to come with us.”
THE END
If you haven’t read book 1 in the WISH series – Amy’s Wish, or book 2 – Maya’s Wish, read them today! There will be one more book in this series. Keep your eyes open for “Julia’s Wish” next.